Dark Lord/Tropes
This is a list of tropes displayed in Dark Lord. Tropes * Adorable Evil Minions: Kobolds, basically little dog goblins with pickaxes too big for them. * All There in the Manual: Most of the units' characterization is contained in their descriptions. * An Ice Person: A few units can learn the Freeze spell. * Artificial Stupidity: Generally averted, but there are a few notable moments. It's most obvious in the fourth level, wherein the enemy Dark Lord has a tendency to recruit some Goblins . . . and nothing else. He will then send out two or three Goblins at a time to be slaughtered by your vastly superior army. * Authority Equals Asskicking: In full effect with King Lucas, who is basically a Paladin on steroids. * Badass Bookworm: Sorcerers and Wizards are squishy weaklings at level 1, only good for research. They can become destruction-blasting powerhouses at the later levels. * Bad Boss: Defied. If you mistreat your minions enough, they'll desert you. Played straight with Kobolds, who are too stupid to realize you're abusing them, and Succubi, who enjoy it. * Bag of Spilling: Justified. You lose all your minions, spells, etc. between levels because you're moving to a new area and have to build the Dungeon from the ground up. * Baleful Polymorph: The Seal the Deal spell turns enemies into helpless baby seals. * Barbarian Hero: Warriors. * Being Tortured Makes You Evil: Just like Dungeon Keeper, you can torture heroes into serving you. * Benevolent Boss: You're usually required to be this. Fortunately, most minions and even heroes are happy as long as they can eat, sleep, get paid, and stay away from their Berserk Button. * Berserk Button: Many units have one, usually on the opposite side. Elves and Drow, Dwarves and Orcs, Wizards and Sorcerers, and so on. * BFS: Wielded by Black Knights to great effect. * Big Bad: You. It's good to be bad, my lord. * Big Good: King Lucas, hence being the Final Boss. * Black Comedy: Pretty much all the humor in the game, unless it's a pun. * Black Knight: One of the most powerful and feared minions in the game. * Blow You Away: While it's relatively rare, there is a Whirlwind spell that can do this. * Bonus Stage: Every third stage has one, and if you find a hidden relic, you can visit it. * Booby Trap: Your main way of defending the Dungeon. Spikes, cannons, and fire traps, oh my! * Bread and Circuses: Keep your minions happy. They may be stupid sometimes, but they're vital and many of them aren't expendable. * Breath Weapon: Dragons have one, as would be expected. * Cannon Fodder: Zig-zagged. Some minions (goblins, dark elves, skeletons) are expendable, while others (orcs, trolls, succubi) are far better off alive. * Card-Carrying Villain: Everyone. Except the heroes, obviously. * Catch-Phrase: "It's good to be bad, my lord." * Charm Person: Succubi's Charm ability. * Cold-Blooded Torture: A useful way to "persuade" heroes to join your side. * Color-Coded Stones: The Manastones, to a tee. It's almost impressive how they managed to match up twenty distinctive colors with twenty distinctive gemstones. * Crapsack World: Over the course of the game, you slowly turn the surface world into this. You can admire your handiwork on the world map and in the closing cutscene. * Demonic Possession: The Possess spell you start with allows you to see the world through a minion's eyes. It doesn't work on Fallen Heroes, though. * Dominatrix: Succubi have this as a visual motif, right down to the whips. * Dug Too Deep: Do not do this if you want to live. The outer limits of the Dungeon are usually patrolled by powerful minions who will kill you dead if provoked. * Dungeon Maintenance: The Game. * Elaborate Underground Base: You'll be building a lot of these, though just how elaborate you go is up to you. Sandbox Mode is basically built for this. * Endless Game: Sandbox Mode, which gives you a small Dungeon to start out with and lets you keep building for as long as you want. * Even The Girls Want Her: Succubi's Charm ability works just fine on female enemies. * Evil Minions: And they're you're Evil Minions, my lord. * Evil Counterpart: Several minions; see Berserk Button for a sample. * Evil Feels Good: According to Asmodis it does. * Evil is Cool: Everything in the game highlights this. * Evil Overlord: You. * Evil Versus Evil: Some levels include other Dark Lords, but they're after the Manastones too. * Face-Heel Turn: Every hero, from the lowliest Rogue to the mightiest Paladin, can be tortured into joining your evil ranks. You can also torture enemy minions, but that's more of a Heel-Heel Turn. * Fallen Hero: You can recruit them. * Fastball Special: Trolls have a unique "Throw" ability that allows them to pick up Goblins and throw them at enemies. * Fire Balls: A spell certain minions can learn. * Fog of War * Gladiator Games: One of the rooms is an Arena, which works as a Training Room for your side and a Torture Chamber for your enemies. However, you have to have at least two units in it at a time, and either one can die. Still, many a player has gotten a laugh out of watching a Rogue or Dwarf desperately try to fight back against a Succubus or Black Knight. * Glass Cannon: Blitzers in general, with Archdemons being the main exception. (Their HP is the third-highest in the game, behind Black Knights and Trolls.) * God of Evil: Several descriptions reference the existence of a dark god named Baal, who gives all Dark Lords their power. * Instant-Win Condition: Snagging the level's Manastone. * Keystone Army: The moment you destroy a rival Dark Lord's Soul Orb, their minions will instantly be pacified and file out through the nearest Portal. A few may even defect to your side. * King Koopa Copy: Archdemons are clearly inspired by Bowser and Ganon, design-wise. * Knight in Shining Armor: Paladins, of course. * Lightning Bruiser: Archdemons and King Lucas. * Made of Magic: Kobolds. Maybe. The spell to create one is called "Summon Kobold", but they're the only minions who can be summoned this way. * Malevolent Architecture: You want your Dungeon to be as malevolent as possible. * Mighty Glacier: Tankers, especially Trolls and Black Knights. * Mooks: Your minions, though not all of them are so expendable. * No Cure for Evil: Averted. Heal is an available spell and a very useful one. There's also Cure Wounds, but only one minion learns it. * Our Monsters are Different: ** All Trolls Are Different: Big, bulky monsters with the highest HP in the game and clubs almost as large as their appetites. ** Dem Bones: Skeletons, created by starving units in a Prison. ** Hell Hounds: A reasonably powerful unit, decent at both melee and range. ** Horny Devils: Succubi are the classic alluring seductresses. They're fast, deadly, can blow kisses to charm enemies, and can speed up torture. ** Our Demons Are Different: Archdemons, the deadliest minions in the game. ** Our Dragons Are Different: Very much western dragons, right down to the red scales and flaming breath. They also have wings, but they can't fly. ** Our Dwarves Are All The Same: Indeed they are. ** Our Elves Are Better: Elves and Dark Elves are both archers best used as patrol or supporting fire. ** Our Ghosts Are Different: They're not really ghosts, but Wraiths fit here best trope-wise. They can turn invisible, pick locks, and scout out enemy territory easily. ** Our Ghouls Are Creepier: They're basically zombies, and are one of the two units that can be created by Graveyards. ** Our Goblins Are Different: The weakest minions, mainly useful in the early game and for a Zerg Rush. Kobolds also appear as your lowly Worker Units. ** Our Fairies Are Different: And are annoying little rogues (not literal Rogues, sadly) who come to scout out your territory and free prisoners. ** Our Liches Are Different: The other minions that can come from Graveyards. They're not really undead mages, but they do have a few magical powers. ** Our Orcs Are Different: Decent fighters and fantastic in the Workshop. * Playing with Fire: Several units can learn a Fireball spell, and you can cast a Fire Burst. Dragons have a unique ability, Flame Breath, which is almost identical to Fireball but can't target multiple enemies. * Pragmatic Villainy: Sure, you'll torture heroes and burn down their land, but a good Dark Lord is nice to their minions. * RPG Elements: Minions and heroes level up, usually through fighting and/or training. * Screw This, I'm Outta Here: The reaction of minions you abuse or minions of an enemy Dark Lord whose Soul Orb has been destroyed. * Sealed Evil in a Can: You, essentially. The plot is you trying to obtain the Manastones and get out of your can. * Set Swords to Stun: Minions will automatically set their swords to stun once you have a Prison. You can tell them otherwise, of course, but it's generally useful to take captives. * Set a Mook to Kill a Mook: With proper planning, you can get the heroes to destroy an enemy Dark Lord's Soul Orb for you. It doesn't work the other way around, though; you lose if another Dark Lord snags the level's Manastone. * Shock and Awe: Lightning for units, Thunderbolt for you. * Sinister Scythe: Wielded by Liches. * Sliding Scale of Idealism vs. Cynicism: Take a wild guess. You're the villain, and you win. * Sliding Scale of Silliness vs. Seriousness: Way down the silly end. * Soul Jar: The Soul Orb. If it gets destroyed, you lose. * Squishy Wizard: Sorcerers and Wizards. * Stealth-Based Mission: One of the levels pits you against a vastly superior Dark Lord, and you'll have to slowly take them down one room at a time. * Tactical Rock-Paper-Scissors: All units except for Kobolds are divided into one of three types: Rushers (Zerg Rush, i.e. Goblins), Tankers (Mighty Glacier, i.e. Orcs), and Blitzers (Glass Cannon, i.e. Sorcerers). Rushers can swarm and overwhelm a Tanker, Tankers can block off the attacks of a Blitzer, and Blitzers can quickly take down even the largest horde of Rushers. * Themed Cursor: Specifically, you unholy hand. Well, gauntlet, at least. * Timed Mission: Most of the time, the heroes will eventually discover you and attack. You'll have to be prepared within that time limit. * Torture Always Works: Always. Even on the mighty Paladin. Even on an enemy Archdemon. * The Undead: A few minions, including Skeletons, Ghouls and Liches. All of them are created in unique ways (Skeletons come from prisoners who were starved to death, Ghouls and Liches from corpses in the Graveyard). * Video Game Cruelty Potential: Much fun can be had with the Torture Chamber and Arena. * Villain Protagonist: Have you read the rest of this page? * You Require More Vespene Gas: Gold to pay for minions and rooms, Mana to cast spells and maintain traps, and Food to feed minions. * Zerg Rush: The entire point of Rushers.